Privacy and free expression on the internet are not mutually exclusive, a panel of social media experts said at the inaugural Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) Social Media Committee event held at the Tower Club in Tysons Corner, Virginia on December 1. Addressing a crowd of about 75 people, Pablo Chavez, managing policy counsel for Google, said user trust is a top priority for the company.

"Instead of measuring energy use at the end of each billing period, smart meters will provide this information at much shorter intervals," the report notes. "Even if electricity use is not recorded minute by minute, or at the appliance level, information may be gleaned from ongoing monitoring of electricity consumption such as the approximate number of occupants, when they are present, as well as when they are awake or asleep. For many, this will resonate as a 'sanctity of the home' issue, where such intimate details of daily life should not be accessible."